FLK2 · Criminal Practice

Crown Court procedure & plea

SQE1 revision notes — the key rules, leading cases and common traps for this topic, in plain English and current to 2026.

CRP.06 — Crown Court Procedure & Plea

Getting to the Crown Court

Three routes: (1) indictable-only offences (murder, robbery, s.18 GBH) — sent up under s.51 Crime and Disorder Act 1998, no allocation; (2) either-way offences where the magistrates decline jurisdiction or the defendant elects Crown Court trial; (3) committal for sentence (s.14/s.15 Sentencing Act 2020) where magistrates' powers are insufficient. Sending under s.51 is automatic — there is no longer any "old-style committal."

Plea and Trial Preparation Hearing (PTPH)

The first Crown Court hearing. The arraignment happens here: the indictment is put and D pleads to each count.

Guilty plea → proceed to sentence (often adjourned for a pre-sentence report).
Not guilty plea → the judge gives case-management directions and fixes the trial date; the Plea and Trial Preparation Hearing form is completed.

Reduction in sentence for guilty plea

Governed by the Sentencing Council Guideline (and s.73 Sentencing Act 2020). Maximum one-third reduction for a plea at the first stage (usually the first hearing/PTPH). Reduces to a maximum one-quarter thereafter, sliding to one-tenth on the first day of trial, and further (even nil) during trial. Get the trigger point right: it's first reasonable opportunity, not "before trial."

The indictment & key procedure

The indictment must comply with the Indictment Rules / CrimPR Part 10; counts must be properly joined (founded on the same facts or a series of same/similar character).
Crown Court trial = judge + jury of 12 (verdict can fall to 9). Judge decides law; jury decides fact.
Majority verdicts (Juries Act 1974 s.17): permitted only after at least 2 hours 10 minutes deliberation; minimum 10–2 (or 11–1).

Common traps & distinctions

Election is the defendant's, not magistrates' — only on either-way offences, only after the magistrates accept jurisdiction.
Plea before venue (magistrates' court) precedes allocation; a guilty plea there means no allocation — magistrates convict, then may commit for sentence.
Newton hearing: where a valid guilty plea leaves facts materially affecting sentence unresolved, the judge hears evidence without a jury and applies the ordinary burden and criminal standard of proof. The prosecution must prove its disputed aggravating account before sentence is based on it. Even a basis agreed by the prosecution and defence does not bind the judge. A hearing is unnecessary if the difference would have minimal effect on sentence; the judge may also decline to hear an absurd or obviously untenable defence account, but must give reasons. A dispute denying commission of a specific offence is for a jury, not a Newton hearing, and findings cannot contradict pleas already accepted by the Crown and approved by the court (R v Underwood [2004] EWCA Crim 2256 [6], [9], 10, (b), (e), (f)).
Don't confuse sending (s.51) with committal for sentence — different statutory routes.
A fitness to plead issue is decided by the judge (Pritchard criteria; Criminal Procedure (Insanity) Act 1964), not a jury.

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A woman is the treasurer of a small amateur football club. Members pay £20 each month in cash. Under the club rules she accepted on becoming treasurer, she must bank the subscriptions into the club's dedicated account within seven days. One month she receives £200 in subscriptions and spends the cash on her own gas bill that same day. She intends to replace the money from her wages before anyone notices, and pays an equivalent £200 into the club account two weeks later. Which statement best explains how section 5(3) of the Theft Act 1968 applies to the subscriptions when she pays the gas bill?

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